Adrienne Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Is a chiller a necessity on a tank with corals and fish in Auckland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Do you have air con? This question really just depends on how warm the ambient air gets around your tank in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 No, no air con. I am thinking a chiller just in case but was told it shouldn't be needed. Our house does get pretty hot most summers. this summer is not so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 I needed a chiller in ChCh, I'm pretty sure you will need one in Auckland if you don't have air con! Ice cubes in the sump will do practically nothing, take 1 deg off for 1hr if you use a lot of them. Evaporative cooling shaved 1 - 1.5 deg off in ChCh, but with the humidity in Auckland I'm not sure if it will work at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 so if you have chillers and you are in chch I assume you have a heater as well? If so, how do you set the two up? Heater to say 25 degrees and chiller to come on at 27? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 where is a good place buy chillers, any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 so if you have chillers and you are in chch I assume you have a heater as well? If so, how do you set the two up? Heater to say 25 degrees and chiller to come on at 27? Many chillers come with a power plug on them for a heater. So it will either cool or heat depending on desired temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Many chillers come with a power plug on them for a heater. So it will either cool or heat depending on desired temperature. and if not a competent sparky could install a controller that has both functions I would think that in this day and age there should be chillers that could both heat and cool like modern house inverters??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 hmm interesting, I will have to investigate further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 I bought ours from Trade Me. Never got around to using it. It will be in the garage somewhere but :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 A heater set to 24 and a chiller set to maintain temperature at 25 will work. 27 is too high, above 26 (25.5 is my personal "max") most corals will start to melt. If your chiller can't regulate temperature, a thermostat like this one works REALLY well and are cheap. In terms of cheap chillers, it depends on your tank size. "Normal" chillers will do a 150L tank, but will cost $500+. There's a second hand one on trademe for $500, though I don't really approve of the Hailea brand: Link Same unit brand new for $700: Link Similar units will be cheaper on ebay AU or ebay US but long waiting times. AU dollar conversion is really good at the moment though! A cheaper one like this chiller can do 70L and is around $250 delivered, but you will need to wait probably 1-2 months for delivery (I assume since you are asking this question you don't have a tank yet and will be worried about NEXT summer?) Alternatively if you have a cold basement/garage that doesn't get above 26 that would be preferable. I have researched at length DIY chillers. None are reliable and consistent enough to risk $1000's of fish and corals on. The best method that I could find was using a dehumidifier and unbending the coils and placing them into a chilly bin which you pumped water through. The idea could work but I could never find a cheap dehumidifier to test it on. You needed to pump the marine water through PVC pipes submersed in the chilly bin as obviously you don't want your marine water in contact with the copper pipes. Another similar option is using the cooling unit on the back of a fridge/freezer, but it would be awfully expensive and ungainly to have near your tank (unless you pumped water through a wall or downstairs, where the fridge/freezer was hidden). I also tried using a water cooler (like a bench top one) for a chiller, they do VERY little cooling and are NOT worth it (if you run water continuously through it you actually heat up the water). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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